In a first, 341 women sailors have been inducted into the Indian Navy through the Agniveer scheme. Addressing a press conference ahead of Navy Day, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar said that around 3,000 Agniveers have been inducted into the Navy, out of which 341 are women.

He said that 82,000 of the 10 lakh applicants who sought available positions in the Indian Navy were women. The Navy chief also confirmed that there was no discrimination in the selection process and that to qualify, both men and women had to pass similar tests.

“We’re not inducting women separately. They’re being inducted in the same manner as their male counterparts. It’s a uniform method of selection. They undergo similar tests,” said the Naval chief.

To emphasise the gender-neutral nature of the services, Kumar stated that the Indian Navy has already admitted fighter pilots and female air operations officers and that women sailors are now being enlisted. Admiral R Hari Kumar added that in the coming year, women would be allowed to join all remaining branches.

“Come next year, we are looking at women officers being inducted across all branches and not just the 7-8 branches they’re restricted to as of today,” he said.

“Services are gender-neutral. Already there are women doing combat roles. There are fighter pilots and air operations officers in the Navy. Now all branches are being opened in the coming year, we have started inducting women sailors as well. It is a landmark achievement,” the Navy chief said.

“We have had a good response, for 3000 vacancies, we had almost 10 lakh applicants, out of whom 82,000 were women. We don’t know finally how many of them will meet all the standards because we do not have separate standards as the job is the same,” he added.

Indian Navy had assured the government it will become ‘Aatmanirbhar’ by 2047: Navy Chief Admiral

The Navy Chief further stated that the Indian Navy had assured the government it will become ‘Aatmanirbhar’ by 2047. “Recent global events such as the Ukraine conflict demonstrated that we can’t remain dependent on others for our security requirements,” Admiral R Hari Kumar explained.

He also said during the event that the Navy’s goal is to find “Made-In-India security solutions” for the country. “The government has given us clear guidelines on Atmanirbhar Bharat. We have given assurances that the Indian Navy will become Aatmanirbhar by 2047,” the Navy Chief said.

He called the recent commissioning of the indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, a “landmark event for the Indian Navy” and “torch bearer of atmanirbharta”.

“There are very few countries that have the capability to make an aircraft carrier and we now form one of the elite,” he said. “It inspires self-confidence among us and it’s a shining symbol of our indigenous capability. It has contributed to enhancing the stature of the nation in the world. I’m sure Vikrant will proudly fly the Tiranga across the wide reaches of Indo-Pacific in years to come,” he said.

Speaking on the docking of a Chinese spy ship at Sri Lanka’s Hambantota seaport recently, the Navy chief assured that the Navy keeps a strong vigil over the movements of various Chinese military and research vessels in the Indian Ocean Region.

References:

opindia.com